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I recently brought home a relative's 9-month-old beagle to keep. In two days, the pup has:
1. Dragged or pushed the plastic bottom out from under his crate, shoved the crate back a few feet (twice), and then tore holes in the Berber carpet lying underneath.
2. Pooped inside the house, just outside the crate (twice), after going for long walks.
3. He's getting the hang of the leash more each day, but it's more like he's walking us as opposed to us walking him.
The walks are pretty much aerobic, meaning he jerks, pulls, veers off course, goes in circles, marches through flower beds, etc. He does listen some, but he clearly needs some training. He is walked in the morning and the evening.
I will start with not putting any food or water in his crate at night. I need to find a way to replace the patch of carpet. I think I will find a way to immobilize the bottom of the crate so he can't push it out. And I will put a rubber rug of some sort underneath to protect the Berber. I will arrange for obedience training. He seems willing to please. Finally, I have a vet appointment for a checkup and shots.
For a smallish dog, he's very strong. He previously lived with a female beagle in an outside pen with a doghouse, in NC.
What are the chances for a good transition to living in the house? Any other tips?
I can't urge this strongly enough: enroll in training classes. Make sure that the instructor uses ONLY positive methods (NO 'corrections,' NO jerks on the leash, NO pushing the dog to the position you want him and NO alpha rolls) and get you and your new puppy (and HE IS a puppy!) over there and into classes ASAP!
TRAINING! And remember, a tired puppy is a GOOD puppy!
And here is my housetraining post. Follow it TO THE LETTER and you'll have a trained dog. Not right away, but eventually. And EVERYONE in the house needs to follow these directions, too!
Housetraining your dog (puppy or adult!)
The first thing you need to do is to remember that you’re trying to reinforce a new behavior. That means that the rewards for this behavior must be WONDERFUL. NOT crap from the store. Wonderful treats are poached chicken breast/turkey breast, cheese and steak. And you don’t have to use big pieces. Tiny pieces (about 3mm cubes) are just fine! I poach a whole turkey breast every few weeks, cut it into hunks when it’s cool enough to handle, wrap them well and store them in the freezer. When I need some, I’ll thaw a hunk overnight and cut off pieces and dice finely, storing them in a plastic bag in the fridge. One hunk will last about five days. Cheese is also popular, so variety is fine.
I carry these plastic bags in my jacket pockets in the winter and in a fanny pack in warmer weather. You HAVE to have these with you, or this method won’t work, because you need to reward as soon as the dog finishes pooping or peeing. It’s not going to work if the rewards are in the house.
Remember that you’re trying to change a very ingrained behavior. Some dogs like to feel certain things under their feet when they eliminate, like fabric, or newspaper. This is called a ‘substrate preference.’ What you’re trying to do is change this substrate preference, and to do that you have to make the treats SO wonderful that the dog will change this very well-entrenched behavior. Thus the chicken, cheese, steak.
I love clicker training, but this can be done without clickers. You just need a way to ‘mark’ the behavior you want to reinforce. Use the word ‘YESSSSS!!!!’ very enthusiastically – that works for some.
You’re going to need to GO OUTSIDE WITH your dog and the dog needs to be on a leash. Yes, even in winter. If you don’t reward IMMEDIATELY after the event (when dog immediately finishes pooping or peeing) and wait inside, the dog is going to be reinforced for coming inside, not for doing its business. So, leash up your dog. STAND IN ONE PLACE. Be boring. Bring a book or magazine for yourself.
Eventually, the dog will do what you’re waiting for. The NANOSECOND that the dog is finished, HAVE A PARTY – lots of loud, high-pitched praise, treats and running around. You want to make this memorable for your dog! You’ll find that once the first event is achieved, the others will come more quickly. Keep on treating (you don’t have to throw a party except for milestones – a milestone = if he only pooped outside but now peed, too, or something equivalent to that) until he’s good and used to peeing/pooping outside. Before you know it, you have a trained dog.
Regarding accidents in the house: NO SCOLDING. Just clean them up. If you scold you’ll get the dog to think it’s bad to pee or poop and he’ll do it in places you won’t see. Until you step in it. Invest in a big bottle of Nature’s Miracle or Simple Solution and use it liberally on accidents.
To quote Patricia McConnell, author of “The Other End of the Leash” and co-author of “Way to Go” (a booklet on housetraining), “Once you face the fact that you just have take your dog out every time you turn around, give them the treat immeditely after they potty, and prevent accidents in the house… well, it usually goes so smoothly.”
With young puppies, remember they have little control of the muscle that holds the bladder closed. This is something they grow into. Just as it’s not expected that a human baby is toilet trained at six months, don’t expect much from a puppy. Patience, patience, patience!!!! The nervous system in a puppy has to mature, and it won’t have much control over the sphincter (closing muscle) at the neck of the bladder until six or seven months. The same goes for the anal sphincter. Until control is achieved, both of these muscles operate on reflex: there are stretch receptors in the bladder wall. When the bladder is full, it sends impulses to the spinal cord and these, in turn, send signals to the sphincter to open and the dog pees.
In the stomach wall, there are also stretch receptors. So when the dog eats and the stomach is stretched, the impulses again go to the spinal cord, but this time the reflex, outgoing, nerve signals are sent to the anal sphincter, so the dog defecates. This operates in people, too – which is why some people rush to the ‘reading room’ after a meal – especially breakfast.
Either go to the library or order used off Amazon, but get your hands on a copy of Patricia McConnell's book "The Other End of the Leash." She's a behavioral expert and even though I've owned dogs for 40+ yrs, I learned something new in the first few chapters!
Last edited by SouthernBelleInUtah; 11-04-2009 at 06:26 AM..
Reason: typo
Thanks so much for the comments so far! I'll get the treats ready and start following these tips. The relative who gave him to me was happy to see the dog today when he came to visit. This relative is terminally ill, so the dog has setimental as well as other values as well for me.
Is there any chance you can enroll him in doggie day care? It doesn't have to be every day, but a couple times a week can help him burn off some of that extra energy.
Long walks are good for beagles. I have one too - and I understand how walking them can be an upper body workout! Now that he's 10 years old, he is slowing down some, but he still likes to pull on the leash. He also likes to go for long hikes in the park/woods/mountains. After expending all of that energy exploring, he's exhausted and will sleep in the car on the way home.
A tip on crate tray. My weim does the same thing, she will push the tray out of the crate, plus she bent the crate metal part so the you can't lock the tray in. I used some of the plastic zipper ties to keep the tray door shut. I cut off the excess so she couldn't chew on them.
I would also put the crate either in a bathroom or a kitchen if you have tile floors at least until you know he can't push the tray out.
Thank you for caring for him. I know your relative will rest easier knowing he is with someone.
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